Two junior boys and two junior girls have been selected to represent Mundelein High School at the 2019 sessions of American Legion Premier Illinois Boys State and American Legion Auxiliary Illinois Girls State. The weeklong programs, to be held at Eastern Illinois University this summer, provide immersive instruction in the democratic process.
The four students selected are Flavio Diaz, Christopher Hill, Caitlyn Mathews and MacKenzie Stewart.
The MHS representatives look forward to attending the sessions and are hopeful of making their marks.
“There should be popular elections for appointees using a ranked voting system,” Hill said. Diaz hopes to address increasing polarization which he believes is hampering voter turnout. For Stewart, “Rehabilitation and educational programs for inmates” is her issue while Mathews, who worked during midterm elections as an election judge, is inspired by the voters she encountered who made time to participate in the electoral process.
Operating with the same general focus, the Boys and Girls State programs were established in 1935 to help students gain a thorough understanding of the functions of government. Doing business as the mythical 51st state, students will join hundreds of representatives from across Illinois to run for office and draft legislation. Illinois was the first state to offer the Boys State program which can lead to participation in Boys/Girls Nation in Washington, DC.